Riskiest time for hep C revealed.

Australian Doctor,  February, 2007  

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By Helen Carter

CURRENT strategies to prevent the spread of hepatitis C are having little impact, with almost half of IV drug users contracting the disease within months of establishing injecting practices.

The study was the first to prospectively follow 200 hepatitis C seronegative IV drug users who had been using for less than six years.

It found almost 50% of those who had been injecting for less than a year became infected -- seroconverting on average four months after starting injecting.

Others found to be at increased risk of seroconversion were female users, ...

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